XPENG stated on 5 March 2026 that VLA 2.0 supports lane changes the car itself initiates, and more advanced manoeuvres, in line with the coming UN regulation number 171 on Driver Control Assistance Systems. The functions are switched on market by market, once the relevant authority has approved them.
It answers a question many European owners ask: why the vehicle cannot perform the same manoeuvres here as in China. The regulations differ, and approval arrives market by market.
Three regulatory phases
XPENG showed the phases on a display board from the stage on 2 March 2026. Phase one applies already, where the driver must remain attentive throughout. Phase two takes effect in 2026 and permits hands-off driving. Phase three stands as a roadmap for automated driving. The same presentation placed global delivery of the second generation of VLA in 2027, the same year as the report on NGP in July 2026.
The regulation is developed within the UN framework for vehicle regulations, and XPENG has taken part. The company has participated in the working group on Driver Control Assistance Systems since 2023 and in the broader automated driving group since 2025. In February 2026 XPENG held open-road demonstrations in Shanghai for the delegates, as the only new Chinese car brand that participated throughout the entire session.
On a practical level, XOS 5.8.7 entered Early Access in early March 2026, ahead of the broader rollout planned for later that month. The update refines ACC and LCC, the two functions that maintain headway and centre the vehicle in lane, so the car brakes unnecessarily less often and makes fewer small steering adjustments on straight roads.
What the European cars have of hardware and software today is set out in the guide to driver-assistance hardware.
Images: XPENG
Sources
XPENG Netherlands: VLA 2.0 and UN regulation 171 · 5 March 2026
XPENG: demonstrations for the UN working group in Shanghai · 13 February 2026
XPENG: global delivery of VLA 2.0 in 2027 and the R171 phases (slide) · 2 March 2026